A Democratic congressman who has been one of the major supporters of immigration reform says that civil war could erupt in the party if candidates are punished in the polls by angry Latino voters and President Obama continues to postpone fulfilling his promise to end the deportations of undocumented immigrants via executive action.
Representative Luis Gutiérrez says that Hispanic voters have lost their enthusiasm as a result of the president’s decision to postpone taking action on immigration reform until after the midterm elections. Gutiérrez claims he still has faith that Obama will do as he has promised before the end of the year, but warned that the Democrats could be faced with an internal crisis if broad action is not taken soon.
“The problem that you see, politically, is nothing in comparison to the civil war that will be created politically in the Democratic party should the president not be broad and generous in his use of prosecutorial discretion,” Gutiérrez says, “Because Latinos will not be deciding whether or not they vote, but whether or not they are in the Democratic party.”
Gutiérrez’s passion for immigration reform has long been established and he has never been shy about criticizing Obama; however, his comments put further pressure on the White House to fulfill the promises made by the president, whose popularity within the Hispanic community has fallen dramatically in the last few months. Several incumbent Democrats are expected to lose their seats in this week’s elections.